True Courage — Essence of Islam Vol. 3
Introduction
In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 3), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon True Courage, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 1: Natural, Moral and Spiritual States of Man
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Moral Qualities Related to Doing Good | Next: Patience »
to her son out of pure sympathy. This is the highest grade of doing good, which cannot be surpassed.
[Islami Usul ki Philosophy, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 10, pp. 353-354]
God Almighty has made all these categories of doing good contingent upon the demands of time and occasion and has clearly laid down in the above verse, that if these good acts are not done on their proper occasion, they will become vices. ‘Adl [fairness] will become Fahsha’ [foul], or in other words, crossing limits will result in an undesirable situation. And Ihsan [right] would become Munkar [wrong] which reason and conscience reject. And Ita’i dhil Qurba [spontaneous compassion] will turn into transgression, that is, this ill-placed sympathy would create an ugly situation. Actually, Baghi means such excessive rain as destroys the harvest; hence exceeding the appropriate limits is also Baghi.
In short, any of these three qualities, exercised out of place, would deteriorate in character; that is why these are made contingent upon the due observance of occasion and place. Here it should be remembered that justice, benevolence or graciousness as between kindred are not by themselves moral qualities. These are man’s natural states and faculties, which are found even in children before their reason is developed. To become moral, the exercise of reason is the condition precedent. Another requirement is that every natural faculty should be exercised in its proper occasion and place.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 28]
Of all the natural states of man is one that resembles courage. For example, a suckling sometimes tries to put its hand into the fire because of this natural faculty. Before being exposed to various frightening experiences, a Natural, Moral and Spiritual States of Man 29 human being does not fear anything due to his natural fearlessness. In this condition, he fearlessly fights tigers and wild beasts, and sets out alone to challenge a multitude of men, and people consider him to be very brave. But this is only a natural state, which is also found in wild beasts and even in dogs. True courage, which is one of the high morals, is contingent on place and occasion. These places and occasions are mentioned in the Holy Word of God Almighty as follows:
۞لَّيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ قِبَلَ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقِ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلۡمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبۡنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِي ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلۡمُوفُونَ بِعَهۡدِهِمۡ إِذَا عَٰهَدُواْ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِي ٱلۡبَأۡسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلۡبَأۡسِ ۗ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but truly righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the Prophets, and spends his money for love of Him, on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask for charity, and for ransoming the captives; and who observes Prayer and pays the Zakat; and those who fulfil their promise when they have made one, and the patient in poverty and afflictions and the steadfast in time of war; it is these who have proved truthful and it is these who are the God-fearing.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:178)
وَٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ ٱبۡتِغَآءَ وَجۡهِ رَبِّهِمۡ وَأَقَامُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنفَقُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقۡنَٰهُمۡ سِرّٗا وَعَلَانِيَةٗ وَيَدۡرَءُونَ بِٱلۡحَسَنَةِ ٱلسَّيِّئَةَ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمۡ عُقۡبَى ٱلدَّارِ
“And those who persevere in seeking the favour of their Lord, and observe Prayer, and spend out of that with which We have provided them, secretly and openly, and repel evil with good. It is these who shall have the best reward of the final Abode —” (Surah Al-Ra‘d, 13:23)
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدۡ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمۡ فَٱخۡشَوۡهُمۡ فَزَادَهُمۡ إِيمَٰنٗا وَقَالُواْ حَسۡبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعۡمَ ٱلۡوَكِيلُ
“Those to whom men said, ‘People have mustered against you, therefore fear them,’ but this only increased their faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’” (Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:174)
وَلَا تَكُونُواْ كَٱلَّذِينَ خَرَجُواْ مِن دِيَٰرِهِم بَطَرٗا وَرِئَآءَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا يَعۡمَلُونَ مُحِيطٞ
“And be not like those who came forth from their homes boastfully, and to be seen of men, and who turn men away from the path of Allah, and Allah encompasses all that they do.” (Surah Al-Anfal, 8:48)
These verses mean that: ‘The brave are those who do not run away from battle or adversity’;
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3]
‘Their steadfastness in battle and hardship is to win the pleasure of God. They do not intend to display their bravery but to please Him’; ‘They are threatened that people have mustered against them and that they should be afraid of them. Threats only reinforce their faith and they declare: God is Sufficient for us. That is, their courage is not like that of dogs and wild beasts, which is based only on natural passions and is one-sided. Their courage has two dimensions. Sometimes they fight their selfish desires and conquer them with their personal courage; and at times, when they see that the appropriate thing would be to confront and fight the enemy, they do so not only due to their natural passion, but also to help the truth. They display bravery by putting their trust in God rather than their own selves.’ ‘Their courage is free from ostentation and vanity, nor is it for self-aggrandizement, rather God’s pleasure is their supreme object.’ These verses illustrate that the source of true courage is patience and steadfastness. Courage means to remain steadfast and not to run away like cowards when assailed by a selfish motive or some other affliction. Therefore, there is a great difference between the courage of a man and that of a predator. A predator’s fierceness and fury is only one-sided when it is roused, but a person who possesses true courage, chooses between confrontation or non-resistance, whichever may be more appropriate.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 28]
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 1: Natural, Moral and Spiritual States of Man
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Moral Qualities Related to Doing Good | Next: Patience »